Antique Silhouette by Augustin Edouart of Mrs. Professor Robison & Mifs Isabella Robison

Peggy McClard Antiques

Americana & Folk Art

	From the rescued folios of Augustin Edouart are the Robison women, grandmother “Mrs. Professor Robison” and “Mifs Robison granddaughter”. Grandma wears a fur hat, a ruffed collar, long beaded necklace, and a flounce around the lower portion of her skirt. She hands a book to her granddaughter. Miss Robison has puffed sleeves that end above her elbow, and a mid-calf skirt that shows her underpants below. She holds a basket of flowers in one hand and she hands something to her grandmother with the other. I say that she hands “something” because her outstretched hand was lost at the wrist when the ship Oneida sank as Edouart was sailing back to England. I’ve had the hand restored by modern silhouette artist, Cindi Harwood Rose, who cut a silhouette of my son in 1984.¹ Because Edouart used this pose with young girls handing flowers to their neighbors, I chose a flower similar to the single posy he most often used. Young Mifs Robison has a little all-over saltwater damage. The damage looks like minor scuffing on the front (not very noticeable). However, through the backside keyhole you can see that it is water damage. Grandma shows a tiny bit of damage which looks like minor scuffing on the front. The inscription at the bottom of the backing paper says “Mrs. Professor Robison / 23, York Place 15th Septem.^ber 1830”. The same inscription can be seen through the keyhole except it adds the word ”Edinburgh”. Young Mifs Robison’s front inscription says “Mifs Robison granddaughter / 9 atoll cresent 23rd Janr^y 1830”. The inscription on the back of the figure omits the word “granddaughter” and adds the location “Edinburgh”. Framed in a period bird’s eye maple frame measuring 16 5/8” x 13” with glass on the front and back. Other than the light scuffing on the young girl, the restored hand, and the water damage evident from the keyhole on the back, this silhouette is in remarkable condition for one that “went down with the ship.” This is a very nicely detailed silhouette. Provenance: Mrs. F. Nevill Jackson Noted in Jackson, Mrs. F. Nevill, Ancestors in Silhouette by August Edouart, The Bodley Head, London; John Lane Co., New York, 1821, at 182. (#4771) $1950 Please see the Silhouettist Biographies page for more information about Edouart. ¹Cindi Harwood Rose can be found at Silhouettes by Cindi



	Please forgive the reflection in the top one-third of the glass.
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